My bees have been busy bringing in pollen in the last few days in colours from cream to yellow to orange and I think this is where some of it has been coming from. I wrote about Kniphofia caulescens a couple of years ago and thought I would post a few more photos from yesterday. This plant has been in situ for about three years and this year has 20 flower spikes.
It is a favourite flower for honey bees in my garden this late in the season as it provides lots of nectar as well as pollen. Each flower contains a large drop of nectar and the bees often go half way in to get at it.
Many of the bees were collecting pollen.
The bees have to share with worker wasps
and the occasional drowsy queen buff-tailed bumblebee.
The bees can go back to their hive but both the wasps and the bumblebees are homeless so they sleep in the flowers at night. The wasps will soon all be dead and the bumblebees will hibernate until next spring.
Your bees have much better forage choices than in my colder location, Christopher. After a couple of hard frosts though, my borage is still blooming and pleasing my honey bees and the wasp, hornet and bumble crowd. Wonderful close-ups of the pollinators!
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